Tim Higgins

Tim Higgins
Nationality	American
Occupation	Journalist, author
Employer	The Wall Street Journal
Known for	Coverage of Tesla, Apple, and Silicon Valley technology companies; author of Power Play and iWar

Tim Higgins is an American journalist, author, and business columnist for The Wall Street Journal, where he covers the intersection of technology, business, and culture with a particular focus on companies such as Tesla, Apple, and OpenAI. He has established himself as one of the foremost chroniclers of Elon Musk's business ventures and the broader dynamics of Silicon Valley. Higgins is the author of Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century (2021), which examined the rise of Tesla and its chief executive, and iWar: Fortnite, Elon Musk, Spotify, WeChat, and Laying Siege to Apple's Empire (2025), which explored the competitive pressures facing Apple's ecosystem. His reporting and analysis have made him a frequent commentator on business television, including appearances on CNBC, where he provides expert perspective on developments in the technology and automotive sectors. Based in San Francisco, Higgins's work at the Journal spans feature-length investigations, enterprise reporting, and opinion columns that examine how major technology companies shape the American economy and political landscape.

Career

The Wall Street Journal

Tim Higgins serves as a business columnist and reporter at The Wall Street Journal, one of the largest and most influential business publications in the United States. His beat encompasses some of the most consequential companies and figures in the technology industry, including Tesla, Apple, and OpenAI, as well as the broader cultural and economic forces shaping Silicon Valley.

Higgins's reporting has frequently centered on Tesla and its chief executive, Elon Musk. His coverage has examined the company's strategic pivots, executive compensation controversies, and long-term corporate ambitions. In a November 2025 appearance on CNBC's Closing Bell, Higgins discussed Tesla's efforts to reposition itself as a robotics company, describing the strategic shift as "a gamble" and analyzing the possibilities and risks associated with the company's development of humanoid robots. In September 2025, he appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box to analyze Tesla's new performance award plan for Musk, commenting that the structure of the compensation package was designed to push the CEO to "aim for the moon."

Beyond his Tesla coverage, Higgins has reported extensively on major developments in artificial intelligence and the technology industry at large. In November 2025, he wrote for the Journal about the ambitions of technology companies to build data centers in outer space, reporting that energy constraints driven by the artificial intelligence race were pushing companies to consider unconventional solutions. In a November 2025 piece, he examined whether OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT led by Sam Altman, was becoming "too big to fail," reporting on Altman's ability to intertwine the startup throughout major technology players, placing it at the nexus of a vital part of the U.S. economy.

Higgins has also written about the cultural and political dimensions of the technology sector. In January 2026, he published an article exploring why many in the technology world believe the American Dream is under threat, reporting that Silicon Valley fears the current moment represents the last chance to amass generational wealth before artificial intelligence renders traditional wealth accumulation obsolete. That same month, he wrote about the shifting political allegiances within Silicon Valley, reporting on the fracturing relationship between the Democratic Party and the technology industry, driven by disputes over artificial intelligence policy, the influence of Donald Trump, and rising populism.

His work at the Journal has made him a recognized authority on the companies and figures he covers, leading to regular appearances as a commentator and analyst on major business television networks, particularly CNBC.

Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century

Higgins is the author of Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century, published in 2021. The book provided a detailed account of the rise of Tesla from a struggling electric vehicle startup to one of the most valuable companies in the world, and examined the role of Elon Musk in driving the company's growth. Drawing on his years of reporting on Tesla for the Wall Street Journal, Higgins chronicled the internal dynamics of the company, the strategic decisions that shaped its trajectory, and the personal characteristics of its chief executive that both propelled and complicated its path. Power Play was received as a significant work of business journalism and contributed to Higgins's reputation as a leading reporter on the electric vehicle and technology industries.

iWar: Fortnite, Elon Musk, Spotify, WeChat, and Laying Siege to Apple's Empire

In 2025, Higgins published his second book, iWar: Fortnite, Elon Musk, Spotify, WeChat, and Laying Siege to Apple's Empire. The book examined the competitive pressures facing Apple's ecosystem from a diverse array of challengers, including the video game company Epic Games (maker of Fortnite), the music streaming service Spotify, and the Chinese super-app WeChat, as well as the broader influence of Elon Musk. A review published on Thurrott.com in September 2025 described iWar as a work by "Wall Street Journal columnist Tim Higgins" and characterized the book as a detailed exploration of the forces arrayed against Apple's dominance. The publication of iWar expanded Higgins's portfolio from his established focus on Tesla and Musk to encompass a broader analysis of competition and power dynamics in the global technology industry.

Recognition

Tim Higgins's work has earned him recognition as a prominent voice in business and technology journalism. His reporting at the Wall Street Journal has positioned him as a go-to source for analysis of Tesla, Elon Musk, and Silicon Valley's largest companies. His first book, Power Play, contributed to public understanding of Tesla's corporate history and was noted as a work of significant business journalism. His second book, iWar, received attention from technology media, including a review on Thurrott.com that noted its detailed examination of the competitive landscape surrounding Apple.

Higgins is a regular guest on CNBC programming, including Closing Bell and Squawk Box, where he provides commentary and analysis on developments at Tesla and in the broader technology sector. His dual role as a reporter and columnist at the Journal has allowed him to combine investigative and enterprise reporting with analytical opinion writing, a combination that has broadened his audience beyond the newspaper's readership.

Legacy

Tim Higgins's body of work represents a sustained effort to chronicle the transformation of the American economy by technology companies and their leaders. Through his reporting at the Wall Street Journal and his books, he has documented the rise of Tesla as a transformative force in the automotive industry, the competitive dynamics surrounding Apple's ecosystem, and the broader social and political implications of artificial intelligence and the concentration of power in Silicon Valley.

His reporting on the cultural and political dimensions of the technology industry — including the shifting political affiliations of Silicon Valley leaders and the existential anxieties surrounding artificial intelligence — has provided readers with context for understanding how technology companies influence not only markets but also governance and public policy.

His investigation into the ambitions of technology companies to build data centers in space illustrated his ability to identify and report on emerging trends before they become widely discussed, a quality that has distinguished his work among technology journalists. His examination of OpenAI's growing systemic importance raised questions about the risks associated with the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence startups and their entanglement with the broader technology ecosystem.

With two published books and a continuing role as a columnist and reporter at one of the world's most prominent business newspapers, Higgins remains an active and influential figure in American business journalism.